Egg and meat machines? They seem like such easy targets, were they ever able to fly at least?
2007-03-26 01:20:12 · 6 answers · asked by james B 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
They were bred to have more and more meat on them. Now they are too heavy to fly.
2007-03-26 01:28:05 · answer #1 · answered by Tom :: Athier than Thou 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps there are chickens that are too heavy to fly, but the ones I've seen and raised can fly just fine for short bursts - enough to get up into trees, anyway. As for defenseless, it's not wise to turn your back on a feisty rooster - even a small one can hurt! Those leg spikes aren't just for show. On the other hand, even a relatively minor predator can go through a flock of chickens like a scythe, so they do need to be sheltered and protected. I guess 'defenseless' is a relative term.
2007-03-26 09:18:55 · answer #2 · answered by John R 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If they were defenseless, farmers would not cut off half their beaks at birth (done in large poultry farms) to prevent injury to other birds.
If they were defenseless, there would be no such thing as cock fights. The birds do wear metal spurs on their hocks, but that is just to exagerate the one already there.
They are by no means defenseless. No animal is "defenseless", no matter how much domestication has taken place, they are still, under all, the wild animal they were before domestication.
2007-03-26 09:13:22 · answer #3 · answered by taliswoman 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Next time you get close to a chicken that is not on a chicken farm-check out the spurs on its ' ankles. That why they have rooster fights (can't use correct term here). Those spurs can draw a lot of blood.
2007-03-26 09:14:08 · answer #4 · answered by dragon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, i've been "pecked" by a chicken,a few times
2007-03-26 08:23:28 · answer #5 · answered by •☺Midäs☻◘ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They can peck with their beaks & scratch you even worse with their feet.
2007-03-26 08:30:18 · answer #6 · answered by Lucy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋